In recent years, hand-held portable electronic devices (e.g., cell phones, global positioning system (GPS) units, portable game consoles, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablets, external hard drives, etc.) have become increasingly popular. For example, twenty years ago cell phones were used by business executives to track meetings and stock market performance. Now it is common for every member of a family to have their own cell phone with children as young as 8 or 9 carrying them to school. Moreover, the technology of the portable electronic device has blended. No longer is a cell phone just a cell phone, a PDA just a PDA or a portable hand held game console just for playing personal video games. The technologies are intertwined and a user can now use his “cell phone” to make a phone call, upload pictures, play a video game, track his location using built in GPS technology, surf the internet, and much more. The use of the mobile electronic device has become such a part of personal daily use that it is common for an individual to suffer anxiety if he realizes too late that he has left home and forgotten his cell phone.
An advantage of hand-held mobile electronic devices is their size and portability. This, however, can also make them difficult to find if the user has set them down. Much like forgetting where the car keys are, the remote control to the television or forgetting where the wallet and check book are, it can be a challenge to always remember the location of the hand-held personal electronic device.
Users of mobile electronic devices are discovering that mounting devices are very beneficial because they make it easier and more convenient to view the mobile electronic device. For example, there have been a variety of mobile electronic mount devices that allow one to mount a mobile electronic device such as a cellular phone to the windshield or dashboard of a vehicle. Many such mounting devices include a base with a suction device that firmly mounts the mobile electronic device to the windshield or dashboard of the vehicle, a cradle for holding or securing the mobile electronic device, and an arm that extends from the base to the cradle. The mounting devices generally allow for adjusting of the base in orientation to the cradle, however, this orientation has been historically limited to about 50 to 100 degrees extension or less.
With the blending of technology and the increased reliance on mobile electronic devices, it would be desirable to have a mobile device mount that could be used to mount mobile electronic devices in a variety of locations, not just in vehicles. For example, a mounting device that could operate interchangeably to mount a mobile electronic device to a laptop or other portable electronic device in addition to a vehicle would be quite useful. Such a mount would also make it easier for a user to locate the mobile electronic device if the user gets used to keeping his device in the mount. Other benefits may include not having to remove the device from the mount every time a user leaves his car; instead he can detach the mount from the car, bring it with him and stand it up next to his computer, on his night stand, etc.